Title: A spreadsheet solution to Einstein's Riddle

Authors: Mike C. Patterson, Bob Harmel, Dan Friesen

Addresses: Dillard College of Business Administration, Midwestern State University, 3410 Taft, Wichita Falls, Texas 76308, USA. ' Dillard College of Business Administration, Midwestern State University, 3410 Taft, Wichita Falls, Texas 76308, USA. ' University of North Texas, Dallas Campus, USA

Abstract: |Einstein|s Riddle| is a challenging exercise in logic. The riddle is structured such that there are five people, each with a unique set of attributes. The attributes are nationality, house colour, pet, cigar brand, favourite beverage and house position. The riddle consists of a series of 15 hints designed to lead the riddle solver through the logical exercise of eliminating incorrect combinations of attributes. The riddle solver must define each person|s set of attributes, i.e., which person is assigned to the fish? This article explains how the riddle can be modelled using a spreadsheet formulation and solved using Excel Solver. The spreadsheet lends itself well to tracking the progress of a purely process-of-elimination approach. The format shown allows the attribute values to be arranged on the spreadsheet until the solution reveals itself. Solver spreadsheet zero-one modelling has potential in many applications.

Keywords: Einstein|s Riddle; riddle solution; challenging; spreadsheet formulation; spreadsheet solutions; Excel Solver; logical exercises; intuitive; zero-one modelling; optimisation tools; teaching exercises; fun; logic.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTPM.2007.012239

International Journal of Technology, Policy and Management, 2007 Vol.7 No.1, pp.49 - 67

Published online: 31 Jan 2007 *

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